Fine-Tuning the James Webb Space Telescope | This Week @NASA

Fine-Tuning the James Webb Space Telescope | This Week @NASA

February 11, 2022: Fine-tuning the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a different view of Venus, and the science on an upcoming space station resupply mission . . . a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

Learn more about JWST: https://www.jwst.nasa.gov

0:00 Introduction

0:13 Aligning the James Webb Space Telescope

1:02 Parker Solar Probe’s First Visible Light Images of Venus’ Surface

1:34 Upcoming Commercial Resupply Mission to the Space Station

2:13 Airborne Science Mission Studying Snowstorms

2:45 RS-25 Engine Test Series Continues

Producer: Andre Valentine

Editor: Sonnet Apple

Music: Universal Production Music

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 

Duration: 3 minutes, 43 seconds

Release Date: February 11, 2022

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #JamesWebb #Webb #JWST #Venus #SolarSystem #Exploration #Parker #ISS #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Aurora over Scotland

Aurora over Scotland

On Earth, auroras are mainly created by particles originally emitted by the Sun in the form of solar wind. When this stream of electrically charged particles gets close to our planet, it interacts with the magnetic field, which acts as a gigantic shield. While it protects Earth’s environment from solar wind particles, it can also trap a small fraction of them. Particles trapped within the magnetosphere—the region of space surrounding Earth in which charged particles are affected by its magnetic field—can be energized and then follow the magnetic field lines down to the magnetic poles. There, they interact with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the upper layers of the atmosphere, creating the flickering, colorful lights visible in the polar regions here on Earth

Earth auroras have different names depending on which pole they occur at. Aurora Borealis, or the northern lights, is the name given to auroras around the north pole and Aurora Australis, or the southern lights, is the name given for auroras around the south pole.

Learn more: 

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/aurora-news-stories/index.html

Image Credit & Copyright: Alan Tough

Caption Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Image Date: February 10, 2022

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Planet #Aurora #AuroraBorealis #MagneticField #Magnetosphere #SolarWind #Sun #Astrophotography #AlanTough #Scotland #UK #UnitedKingdom #STEM #Education #International

Photons Received: Webb Telescope Sees Its First Star—18 Times | NASA

Photons Received: Webb Telescope Sees Its First Star—18 Times | NASA

The James Webb Space Telescope is nearing completion of the first phase of the months-long process of aligning the observatory’s primary mirror using the Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) instrument.

The team's challenge was twofold: confirm that NIRCam was ready to collect light from celestial objects, and then identify starlight from the same star in each of the 18 primary mirror segments. The result is an image mosaic of 18 randomly organized dots of starlight, the product of Webb's unaligned mirror segments all reflecting light from the same star back at Webb's secondary mirror and into NIRCam's detectors.

What looks like a simple image of blurry starlight now becomes the foundation to align and focus the telescope in order for Webb to deliver unprecedented views of the universe this summer. Over the next month or so, the team will gradually adjust the mirror segments until the 18 images become a single star. 

Learn more: https://www.jwst.nasa.gov

Music credit: Universal Production Music -Transitions Instrumental by Cotton Niblett

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Michael McClare (KBRwyle): Lead Producer

Adriana Manrique Gutierrez (KBRwyle): Lead Animator

Jonathan North (KBRwyle): Animator

Michael McClare (KBRwyle): Lead Writer, Lead Videographer, Lead Editor, Lead Motion Graphics

Duration: 3 minutes

Release Date: February 11, 2022

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #JamesWebb #Webb #JWST #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education #HD #Video

SpaceX Starship | Mars Mission Animation

SpaceX Starship | Mars Mission Animation

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket (collectively referred to as Starship) represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship will be the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, with the ability to carry in excess of 100 metric tonnes to Earth orbit.

Starship is a privately funded, fully reusable, super heavy-lift launch system for interplanetary spaceflight. Starship is intended to become SpaceX's primary orbital vehicle once operational, supplanting the existing Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Dragon fleet. Starship will have the highest payload capacity of any orbital rocket ever built on its debut, scheduled for this year, 2022.

SpaceX manufactures and flies Starship test vehicles from a facility at Boca Chica, Texas.

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corp.  (SpaceX)

Duration: 5 minutes, 9 seconds

Release Date: February 10, 2022

#NASA  #SpaceX #ElonMusk #Space #Moon #Mars #Starship #SuperHeavy #Earth #Orbit #Spaceflight #Science #Technology #Engineering #Transportation #Commerce #BocaChica #Texas #Kennedy #KSC #Spaceport #CapeCanaveral #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Animation #Video #HD

NASA's Space to Ground: Awaiting New Arrivals

NASA's Space to Ground: Awaiting New Arrivals

Week of February 11, 2022: NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. 

Expedition 66 Crew:

Commander: Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov 

European Space Agency (ESA) Flight Engineer Matthias Maurer (DLR/German Aerospace Center)

NASA (U.S.) Flight Engineers: Thomas Marshburn, Raja Chari, Kayla Barron, and Mark Vande Hei.

The International Space Station (ISS) Program’s greatest accomplishment is as much a human achievement as it is a technological one—how best to plan, coordinate, and monitor the varied activities of the Program’s many organizations.

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the ISS. The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science 

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

Credit: NASA/Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 3 minutes, 28 seconds

Release Date: February 11, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #Roscosmos #Cosmonauts #Astronauts #Роскосмос #Russia #Россия #ESA #DLR #Germany #Deutschland #Science #Research #Axiom #JSC #Houston #Texas #UnitedStates #Expedition66 #International #STEM #Education #Video

SpaceX Falcon 9 | Starlink Launch | NASA's Kennedy Space Center

SpaceX Falcon 9 | Starlink Launch | NASA's Kennedy Space Center

On Tuesday, January 18 at 9:02 p.m. EST, Falcon 9 launched 49 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

This was the tenth launch and landing of this Falcon 9 first stage booster, which has launched GPS III-3, Turksat 5A, Transporter-2, and now seven Starlink missions.

Starlink is a satellite Internet constellation operated by SpaceX providing satellite Internet access coverage to most of the Earth. The constellation has grown to over 1,700 satellites through 2021, and will eventually consist of many thousands of mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), which communicate with designated ground transceivers. While the technical possibility of satellite Internet service covers most of the global population, actual service can be delivered only in countries that have licensed SpaceX to provide service within a specific national jurisdiction. As of January 2022, the beta Internet service offering is available in 25 countries. (Source: Wikipedia)

Learn more about Starlink:

https://www.starlink.com

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corp.  (SpaceX)

Image Date: January 18, 2022

#NASA #Space #Science #Moon #Satellites #Starlink #Broadband #Internet #Earth #Orbit #SpaceX #ElonMusk #Spaceflight #Technology #Engineering #Commerce #Kennedy #KSC #Spaceport #CapeCanaveral #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA's Artemis I: The European Service Module | The Moon Journey

NASA's Artemis I: The European Service Module | The Moon Journey

Feb. 10, 2022: NASA's Orion spacecraft with the European Service Module will fly farther from Earth than any human-rated vehicle has ever flown before. This video gives an overview of the first mission—without astronauts—for Artemis, focusing on the European Space Agency’s European Service Module that powers the spacecraft.

The spacecraft will perform a flyby of the Moon, using lunar gravity to gain speed and propel itself 70,000 km beyond the Moon, almost half a million km from Earth—further than any human has ever traveled.

On its return journey, Orion will perform another Moon flyby before heading back to Earth.

The total trip will take around 20 days, ending with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean without the European Service Module—it separates and burns up harmlessly in the atmosphere.

The second Artemis mission will have a similar flight plan but with astronauts. The third Artemis mission will see astronauts taken to the lunar surface.

The European Service Module is ESA’s contribution to NASA’s Orion spacecraft that will send astronauts to the Moon and beyond. It provides electricity, water, oxygen and nitrogen as well as keeping the spacecraft at the right temperature and on course.

The European Service Module has 33 thrusters, 11 km of electrical wiring, four propellant and two pressure tanks that all work together to supply propulsion and everything needed to keep astronauts alive far from Earth—there is no room for error.

Artemis is the first step in the next era of human exploration. Together with commercial and international partners, NASA will establish a sustainable presence on the Moon to prepare for missions to Mars.

Learn more about NASA's Artemis Program:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemisprogram

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)

Duration: 3 minutes, 58 seconds

Release Date: February 10, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Space #Moon #Artemis #Orion #Spacecraft #SLS #Rocket #Orion #Spacecraft #Mars #JourneyToMars #Science #Engineering #Technology #History #America #UnitedStates #Europe #International #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Canada's Robots: Canadarm2 & Dextre | International Space Station

Canada's Robots: Canadarm2 & Dextre | International Space Station

The 17-meter-long (55+ feet) Canadarm2 robotic arm, with the 3.7m (12 feet) high Dextre fine-tuned robotic hand attached, is pictured as the International Space Station (ISS) orbited 259 miles above the Atlantic Ocean south of Cape Verde off the coast of Africa.

Canadarm2 and Dextre are part of Canada's contribution to the International Space Station (ISS). Canadarm2 was extensively involved in the assembly of the orbiting laboratory.

Dextre tackles the tough or routine jobs that need to be done in the harsh environment of space. The Station's robotic assistant allows astronauts to spend more time doing scientific experiments instead of performing risky spacewalks. 

Dextre's body was designed to move in many different ways. Each of its arms has seven joints that can move up and down, go from side to side, and rotate. This large range of motion means Dextre can actually carry out more complex movements than a human arm. Each hand has a retractable motorized wrench, a camera and lights for close-up viewing, and a retractable connector to provide power, data and video connection. The robot can carefully grip delicate equipment without causing damage. For example, it can successfully manipulate small safety caps, cables and wires with minute precision—all while being controlled from Earth, hundreds of kilometers away. Dextre can can ride on the end of Canadarm2 to move from each worksite or be ferried on the Mobile Base System to work almost anywhere on the ISS. 

The robot is operated by ground control teams at the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) headquarters outside Montreal, Quebec, and at NASA.

Discover more about Canadian space robotics:

https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/iss/robotics/default.asp

The International Space Station (ISS) Program’s greatest accomplishment is as much a human achievement as it is a technological one—how best to plan, coordinate, and monitor the varied activities of the Program’s many organizations.

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the ISS. The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science 

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

ISS Image Credit: NASA/Johnson Space Center (JSC)

ISS Image Date: February 5, 2022

Text Description & Infographic Credits: Canadian Space Agency (CSA) 

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Technology #Canada #CSA #Canadarm2 #Dextre #Robotics #Robots #Expedition66 #Earth #Africa #AtlanticOcean #Human #Spaceflight #International #Spacecraft #JSC #Houston #Texas #UnitedStates #Infographic #STEM #Education

New Views of Venus’ Surface | NASA’s Parker Solar Probe

New Views of Venus’ Surface | NASA’s Parker Solar Probe

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has taken its first visible light images of the surface of Venus from space. Smothered in thick clouds, Venus’ surface is usually shrouded from sight. However, in two recent flybys of the planet, Parker used its Wide-Field Imager (WISPR) to image the entire nightside in wavelengths of the visible spectrum—the type of light that the human eye can see—and extending into the near-infrared.

The images, combined into a video, reveal a faint glow from the surface that shows distinctive features like continental regions, plains, and plateaus. A luminescent halo of oxygen in the atmosphere can also be seen surrounding the planet.

More information: 

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/sun/parker-solar-probe-captures-its-first-images-of-venus-surface-in-visible-light-confirmed

Link to paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021GL096302

Mission Information:

Parker Solar Probe is humanity’s first mission to the sun. After launch, it will orbit directly through the solar atmosphere–the corona–closer to the surface than any human-made object has ever gone. While facing brutal heat and radiation, the mission will reveal fundamental science behind what drives the solar wind, the constant outpouring of material from the sun that shapes planetary atmospheres and affects space weather near Earth.

Parker Solar Probe is part of NASA’s Living With a Star Program to explore aspects of the connected sun-Earth system that directly affect life and society.

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

Scientists:

Brian Wood (U.S. Naval Research Laboratory)

Giada Arney (NASA/GSFC)

Brendan Gallagher (U.S. Naval Research Laboratory)

Phillip Hess (U.S. Naval Research Laboratory)

Angelos Vourlidas (Johns Hopkins University/APL)

Producer: Joy Ng (KBRwyle)

Writer: Mara Johnson-Groh (Wyle Information Systems)

Animator: Steve Gribben (Johns Hopkins APL)

Music credits: “Tides” and “Subsurface” by Ben Niblett [PRS] and Jon Cotton [PRS] from Universal Production Music

Duration: 3 minutes, 24 seconds

Release Date: February 9, 2022

#NASA #Astronomy #Science #Space #Venus #Planet #Atmosphere #SpaceWeather #Sun #Solar #Star #Astrophysics #Spacecraft #SolarProbe #Parker #EugeneParker #JHUAPL #Goddard #UnitedStates #Mission #STEM #Education #Video #HD

An Orbital Sunrise above South America | International Space Station

An Orbital Sunrise above South America | International Space Station

An orbital sunrise is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 262 miles above Bolivia on the South American continent.

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the  International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station: 

https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science 

For more information about STEM on Station: https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

STEM is an acronym for the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. 

Credit: NASA/Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: December 17, 2021

#NASA #ESA #ISS #Earth #Planet #Science #Sunrise #Orbit #SouthAmerica #Bolivia #EarthObservation #Astronaut #Expedition66 #Technology #Photography #JSC #OverviewEffect #OrbitalPerspective #STEM #Education

Dreamy Outlook over Australia

Dreamy Outlook over Australia

The Fading Milky Way

Light pollution is a growing environmental problem that threatens to erase the night sky before its time. A recent study revealed that perhaps two-thirds of the world's population can no longer look upwards at night and see the Milky Way—a hazy swath of stars that on warm summer nights spans the sky from horizon to horizon.

The Milky Way is dimming, not because the end of the Universe is near, but rather as a result of light pollution: the inadvertent illumination of the atmosphere from street lights, outdoor advertising, homes, schools, airports and other sources. Every night billions of bulbs send their energy skyward where microscopic bits of matter—air molecules, airborne dust, and water vapor droplets—reflect much of the wasted light back to Earth. 

(Source: NASA)

Learn more:

International Dark-Sky Association

https://www.darksky.org/light-pollution

Globe at Night

https://www.globeatnight.org

Night Sky Network (NASA JPL)

https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm

Image Credit & Copyright: Ian Inverarity

Image Release Date: February 4, 2022

Technical details: "A lighting and filter test shot that I decided to process, 3 shot vertical panorama, Sigma 28mm lens at f/1.4, ISO 3200, 13 seconds, Z9, stitched and processed in Photoshop. Video light for foreground lighting, diffuse filter on lens for star effects."

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #MilkyWay #Stars #LightPollution #CitizenScience #Astrophotographer #Astrophotography #Skywatching #Cosmos #Universe #SolarSystem #Earth #Australia #STEM #Education

Mars: The North Pole | United Arab Emirates Hope Mission

Mars: The North Pole | United Arab Emirates Hope Mission

At the north and south poles of Mars lie thick stacks of flat-lying sheets of dust and water ice: the ice caps. These are called Planum Boreum (north) and Planum Australe (south). Both were laid down like pages in a book during countless cycles of climate changes. Scientists hope to read this book of Mars climate history using the layers. How far back does the record go? The time scale depends on which polar feature you study: some come and go in just a single Mars year (1.9 Earth years), while others have endured for perhaps a billion years.

Ice collects in the polar regions because Mars' rotation axis tilts about 25° to its orbit around the Sun. This gives Mars four distinct seasons, similar to those on Earth. But polar winters on Mars are much colder (–153° Celsius or –243° Fahrenheit) than the coldest winters on Earth.

Mars becomes cold enough for carbon dioxide (CO2) gas to condense directly out of the atmosphere as snow or frost. As temperatures drop through autumn, clouds form over each polar region. These merge into a dense hood of water ice clouds and CO2 ice clouds. The snow and frost that falls from the clouds blankets much of the polar region, forming a broad seasonal ice cap. 

When spring returns, the CO2 ice cap sublimates—changes directly from a solid into a gas—as temperatures warm above –130° C (–202° F).  Every year, about 25 percent of the Martian atmosphere cycles through these seasonal ice caps.

(Source: NASA/Arizona State University)

The Emirates Mars Mission is a United Arab Emirates Space Agency uncrewed space exploration mission to Mars. The Hope orbiter was launched on July 19, 2020, and went into orbit around Mars on February 9, 2021. The mission design, development, and operations are led by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC). The spacecraft was assembled in the United States at the University of Colorado Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), with support from Arizona State University (ASU) and the University of California, Berkeley.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Image Credit: Emirates Mars Mission/EXI/Jason Major

Image Date: May 24, 2021

Release Date: February 7, 2022

#NASA #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #UAE #Dubai #Hope #Orbiter #Spacecraft #Science #Geology #Polar #NorthPole #PlanumBoreum #مشروع الإمارات لاستكشاف المريخ #SolarSystem #Exploration #JasonMajor #مسبار الأمل #Emirates #UnitedArabEmirates #STEM #Education

NASA Pathways Internships—Apply by February 11, 2022

NASA Pathways Internships—Apply by February 11, 2022

Pathways internships are now open for U.S. citizens and close Feb. 11, 2022! As a Pathways intern, you have a direct pipeline to full-time employment upon graduation!

Learn how to apply: https://go.nasa.gov/35LL7gg

Top candidates are well-rounded students (at least 16 years of age) from diverse backgrounds who demonstrate curiosity, team-orientation, excellence, a passion for exploration, agility, and resilience. Prior experience is not required!

Pathways Informational Videos: https://www.nasa.gov/careers/pathwaysplaylist/

Pathways FAQ: https://www.nasa.gov/careers/pathways-faqs

10 Things You Can Do Now to Prepare for a NASA Internship:

https://go.nasa.gov/2CEOkzC

#NASA #Space #Science #Engineering #Technology #Mathematics #Earth #Planet #Exploration #Students #Interns #Internships #Pathways #Career #HR #Opportunities #Diversity #UnitedStates #America #Citizens #STEM #Education

Meet The Women Behind NASA’s Return to the Moon | The TODAY Show

Meet The Women Behind NASA’s Return to the Moon | The TODAY Show

NASA’s effort to bring Americans back to the moon is underway as they create a powerful new rocket for a history-making team that would include the first woman and first person of color. The Artemis Program aims to build a place to live and work on the moon where they can learn more about the moon and how to live on another surface outside of Earth. NBC’s Anne Thompson reports for TODAY.

NASA Women featured:

Sharon Cobb, Associate Program Manager, Space Launch System (MSFC)

Laura Poliah, Test Execution Lead, Orion Production Operations (KSC)

Stephanie Wilson, Astronaut, second African American woman in space (JSC)

Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Launch Director (KSC)

Learn more about NASA's Artemis program:

https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis

Women@NASA: https://women.nasa.gov

Credit: TODAY show on NBC

Duration: 5 minutes, 6 seconds

Release Date: February 2, 2022

#NASA #Space #Moon #Artemis #Orion #Spacecraft #SLS #Rocket #Mars #JourneyToMars #Women #AfricanAmerican #Leaders #Leadership #Science #Engineering #Technology #History #America #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Video #HD

A Cosmic Draw | Hubble Space Telescope

A Cosmic Draw | Hubble Space Telescope

It is now widely accepted amongst astronomers that an important aspect of how galaxies evolve is the way they interact with one another. Galaxies can merge, collide, or brush past one another—each of which has a significant impact on their shapes and structures. As common as these interactions are thought to be in the Universe, it is rare to capture an image of two galaxies interacting in such a visibly dynamic way. This image, from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, feels incredibly three-dimensional for a piece of deep-space imagery. 

The subject of this image is named Arp 282, an interacting galaxy pair that is composed of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 169 (bottom) and the galaxy IC 1559 (top). Interestingly, both of the galaxies comprising Arp 282 have monumentally energetic cores, known as active galactic nuclei (AGN), although it is difficult to tell that from this image. This is actually rather fortunate, because if the full emission of two AGNs was visible in this image, then it would probably obscure the beautifully detailed tidal interactions occurring between NGC 169 and IC 1559. Tidal forces occur when an object’s gravity causes another object to distort or stretch. The direction of the tidal forces will be away from the lower-mass object and towards the higher mass object. When two galaxies interact, gas, dust and even entire solar systems will be drawn away from one galaxy towards the other by these tidal forces. This process can actually be seen in action in this image—delicate streams of matter have formed, visibly linking the two galaxies.

Credit:

ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Dalcanton, Dark Energy Survey, DOE, FNAL/DECam, CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA, SDSS

Acknowledgement: J. Schmidt

Release Date: February 7, 2022

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #Galaxies #Arp282 #NGC169 #Seyfert #IC1559 #Andromeda #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education

NASA's Europa Clipper Mission: Journey to an Ocean World

NASA's Europa Clipper Mission: Journey to an Ocean World

NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft will conduct a detailed survey of Jupiter's moon Europa to determine whether the icy moon could harbor conditions suitable for life. Europa Clipper will carry an advanced suite of science instruments to discover whether Europa hosts environments suitable for life. Scientists think under the moon’s icy shell there is a global, saltwater ocean with twice the volume of Earth’s oceans combined.

Europa Clipper is an interplanetary mission in development by NASA consisting of an orbiter. Currently planned for launch in October 2024, the spacecraft is being developed to study the Galilean moon Europa through a series of flybys while in orbit around Jupiter.

Europa Clipper will perform follow-up studies to those made by NASA's Galileo spacecraft during its nearly eight years in Jupiter orbit (1995-2003), which indicated the existence of a subsurface ocean underneath Europa's ice crust. Due to the adverse effects of radiation from Jupiter's magnetosphere in Europa orbit, it was decided that it would be safer to inject a spacecraft into an elliptical orbit around Jupiter and make 44 close flybys of the moon. The mission began as a joint investigation between the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), and will be built with a scientific payload of nine instruments contributed by JPL, APL, Southwest Research Institute, University of Texas at Austin, Arizona State University and University of Colorado Boulder. 

The mission will complement the European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) launching in 2022, which will fly-by Europa twice and Callisto multiple times before moving into orbit around Ganymede.

NASA's Europa Clipper mission is scheduled to launch in October 2024 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, during a 21-day launch window. The spacecraft will use gravity assists from Mars in February 2025 and Earth in December 2026, before arriving at Europa in April 2030.

This mission is a scheduled flight of the Planetary Science Division, designated a Large Strategic Science Mission, and funded under the Planetary Missions Program Office's Solar System Exploration program as its second flight. It is also supported by the new Ocean Worlds Exploration Program. 

Learn more: https://europa.nasa.gov

Download Europa Clipper Ocean World poster: 

go.nasa.gov/3Gsjzt5

Credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Image Release Date: February 4, 2022

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Jupiter #Europa #Moon #Ocean #Astrobiology #Biosignatures #Habitability #Radiation #EuropaClipper #Spacecraft #SolarSystem #Exploration #JPL #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #Art #Illustration #Poster #Infographic #STEM #Education